During World War II the United States government sent thousands of its own citizens to internment camps, classifying them as “enemy aliens.”

The Japanese American camps are well known. Less so are the camps that housed Italian Americans and German Americans.

For years a dedicated group of Italian Americans has been working to put a spotlight on Una Storia Segreta, Italian for “a secret story.”

The Western Regional Chapter of the Italian Historical Association put together a traveling exhibit with that title and also backed the publication of Una Storia Segreta: The Secret History of Italian American Evacuation and Internment during World War II, edited by Lawrence Stasi.

The exhibit is at the Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library at San Jose State University through the month of April.

Now the group is working with the Italian American Heritage Foundation to gather more family recollections and experiences at an open forum on April 10 from 2 to 6 p.m. It takes place in the IAHF Hall, 425 N. Fourth St.

The keynote speakers will be Stasi and State Sen. Joe Simitian, sponsor of California Senate Resolution 95, which acknowledged and apologized for injustices suffered by Italian Americans during WWII.

Also speaking will be U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Mike Honda.

Chet Campanella, who asked for the formal government apology and worked toward it for more than a dozen years, will also be on hand.

Between 1941 and 1943 more than 600,000 Italian Americans who had immigrated to the U.S. but who had not become naturalized citizens found themselves classified as “enemy aliens.” Some were sent to internment camps, along with Japanese Americans and German Americans.

In California, some Italian Americans were forced to board up their homes and move away from the coast. Some commercial fishermen had their boats confiscated and lost their livelihoods.

Here in San Jose, many Italian Americans were forced to live with curfews and restrictions on how far they could travel.

There is a $10 charge for the forum, but it is free to students in grades 1-12.

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